1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of providing a telecommunications service, to a service-providing system for a communications network, to a service computer for a communications network, to a terminal for connection to a communications network, and to a communications network.
2. Background of the Invention
The subscribers of a communications network are increasingly being offered telecommunications services, such as "Service 130" (freephone). The invention is based on the assumption that such telecommunications services are provided by means of an IN architecture (IN=intelligent network).
This manner of providing telecommunications services is described, for example, in an article by J. P. Euzen et al, "Intelligent Network Products", Electrical Communication, Vol. 63, No. 4, 1989, pages 321 to 330.
A communications network contains a number of service switching points which are connected to a number of service control points via a No. 7 signaling network, for example. The service logics, which control the provision of services, are located centrally at the service control points. To request a service, a subscriber dials a service identification code. A connection request with the service identification code is routed to one of the service control points, which recognizes the service identification code and sends a message to the corresponding service control point. There, the service logic corresponding to the service identification code is activated. To provide the service, the service logic acts on the call-handling control in the service switching point or causes the service switching point to send messages to the requesting terminal.
With this method of providing telecommunications services, only a conventional telephone is available as a user interface, and only such a conventional telephone is supported by the service logics. This places constraints on the design of the user interface and on the development of new services.